Brain Tumor Symptoms and Treatment
The first symptoms of a brain tumor can manifest themselves as vomiting, severe headache, speech and vision impairment, and weakness in the arms and legs. People with the first signs of a brain tumor should consult a neurosurgeon or neurologist. A fully equipped center, team approach and multidisciplinary treatment approach are very important for success in brain tumors, which are common in the society.
What is a Brain Tumor?
A tumor means a tissue that forms in a place where it should not be in our body, or the uncontrolled growth of any tissue where it should be. According to this definition, sebaceous glands and moles, which we do not care much about in our body, can also be included in the concept of tumor. However, although not every tumor is lethal, there is an exceptional condition of brain tissue in brain tumors. Benign tumors can also be lethal because the brain is located in a closed chamber inside the skull. For this reason, although not all brain tumors are lethal, they must be kept under control and intervened correctly.
Why and How Does a Brain Tumor Occur?
Two important answers can be given about how brain tumors form. The first is the development of the brain from its own cells, and the other is the spread of the tumor from another region to the brain. If the brain tumor develops from its own cells, it is divided into benign (benign, benign) and malignant (malignant, malignant). The prevalence of brain tumor in the community is between 3-5 per 100 thousand people. It is more common in men than in the yellow race and women. In women, benign meningioma is more common. Brain tumors occur in almost every age range. At the same time, brain tumors differ according to age. For example; Malignant brain tumors are more common in children and over the age of 60. Malignant brain tumors, on the other hand, are more common in the rest of the age ranges.
Although the causes of brain tumors are not known exactly, family history of Caucasian, male gender and radiation exposure are considered important risk factors. In addition, mobile phone use is also thought to affect the risk of brain tumors, although it has not yet been proven.
Brain Tumor Symptoms
When benign or malignant brain tumors reach a certain size, they cause increased pressure inside the head. Accordingly, they can push the brain to one side or invade the brain’s tissue or nerves and disrupt its functions. The question of how to diagnose a brain tumor is a topic that many people wonder about. The most obvious symptom of a brain tumor is increased intracranial pressure. Increased head pressure can also be understood by some symptoms. If you experience headache, apathy (slowness in movements and facial expressions), nausea, vomiting, epileptic seizures, weakness in some parts of your body depending on where the tumor is located in the brain, personality disorders and impairment in some of your abilities (such as calculating, writing), these are among the most obvious symptoms of a brain tumor. One of the symptoms of brain tumor is hormonal disorders and related clinical symptoms. For example, it is necessary to pay attention to changes such as early puberty, enlargement of hands and feet, menstrual cycle disorders, hyperthyroidism, cortisol deficiency or excess.
Types of Brain Tumors
Brain tumors are divided into two parts: good and bad. The cells that cause the first brain tumor are malignant, that is, cancerous brain tumors or benign. Although cancerous cells do not form in benign brain tumors, life-threatening risks should not be risked because they are located in a sensitive area such as the brain.
Benign brain tumors: Benign brain tumors do not originate from brain cells. Benign brain tumors, which have a very slow reproduction rate, can be easily separated from brain tissue. Thus, all or almost all of the benign tumors can be removed. Postoperative results are very good.
Malignant brain tumors: Malignant brain tumors are tumors produced by the brain cell itself and usually reproduce very quickly. For this reason, it is very difficult to remove them completely by surgery. Because in malignant brain tumors, the tumor tissue is the tissue that performs brain functions, and every tissue that is surgically removed means loss of function. In malignant brain tumors, there may be regrowth of the tumor after surgery. At the same time, merastatic tumors that spread from a different part of our body to brain tissue are also considered malignant tumors.
How is a Brain Tumor Diagnosed?
The issue of how brain tumors are understood is very important. Choosing a fully equipped hospital affects the success of both diagnosis and treatment. A rough idea about the type of brain tumor is obtained by MRI, which is the gold standard in brain tumor diagnosis, and then it is clearly understood whether there is a brain tumor or not by pathology laboratory examination. Detailed demonstration and identification of brain tumors with advanced radiological imaging methods are extremely important for planning treatment. Technological developments provide great convenience in diagnosis and identification of pathologies. “CT angiography” performed by administering contrast material to the patient has an important place in the diagnosis of cerebrovascular diseases. In this way, the structure of the vessels can be easily visualized. The prominent imaging method in the evaluation of brain tissue and diseases is MRI, that is, “Magnetic Resonance”. While it is possible to obtain information only about the anatomical and structural state of the brain with standard MRI imaging, new technologies can also obtain information about the metabolic, biochemical and hemodynamic structure of the brain. Performing a biopsy using known methods to obtain information about lesions in the brain can be difficult, risky and time-consuming. With advanced MRI imaging methods, it can be determined whether the suspected lesion in the brain is a tumor or not. With advanced MR imaging methods such as diffusion MR, DTI MR, Functional MR, Perfusion MR and MR spectroscopy, the extent of the tumor, its type, metabolic-biochemical structure, and its relationship with the areas and pathways that enable speech, vision and movement can be evaluated. Data obtained with advanced MR imaging methods help determine treatment approaches. (The article by radiology specialist Özdil President can be linked.)
Brain Tumor Treatment
One of the most important parts of brain tumor treatment is that the treatment is personalized. The aim of brain tumor treatment is to fight the tumor and prolong the life of the patient as much as possible without impairing the patient’s quality of life. The most important factors in brain tumor surgery are the type and location of the tumor, the age and general condition of the patient, and whether there are additional problems that may affect the patient’s decision to operate. For this reason, a personalized treatment is applied and the risk of success increases. Treatment of malignant brain tumors is usually done surgically. In addition to brain tumor surgery, sometimes chemotherapy, sometimes radiotherapy, sometimes combined treatment is performed. The most important thing in brain tumor surgeries is that the surgery is performed by teams of experts in brain tumors. Radiotherapy devices equipped with stereotaxic targeting systems can significantly increase the effectiveness of treatment while reducing the possible side effects of brain tumor surgery.
There are two options for surgical treatment of brain tumors. These are brain biopsy or microsurgery methods.
In the brain biopsy method, biopsy is performed in cases where it is deeply located and does not cause an increase in intracranial pressure, but we need to learn the type of tumor to determine how the treatment will be. Accordingly, the 3D coordinates of the tumor are calculated from a small hole opened close to the tumor and taken with the help of a needle. The patient is discharged after an average of 1 day.
Microsurgery is a procedure to remove the entire tumor. With the microsurgery method, the internal pressure of the head is reduced and the regional ethics of the brain tumor can be reset. At the same time, if the brain tumor is in an area that allows us to speak, see or move, microsurgery ensures that these areas are not damaged during surgery and minimizes the risks that may develop. For this reason, it is very important that the hospital chosen for brain tumor treatment uses advanced technology.
Other methods applied to protect the intact brain tissue, to completely remove the brain tumor and to prevent permanent disabilities and risks are as follows;
Neuronavigation: With Neuronavigation, which is one of the brain tumor treatment options, the patient’s film is uploaded to the system and the most accurate orientation to the tumor is understood before the surgery. In the same way, the localization of the structures that are nearby during the surgery is also determined.
Neuromonitorization: This method helps to greatly reduce facial or arm and leg paralysis that may occur after brain tumor surgery. Before the brain surgery begins, a signal is received from the electrodes placed on the patient’s face, arms and legs by the neurologist throughout the surgery. When there is a drop in the signal, the surgeon is informed and warned that he is in the sensitive area.
Intraoperative Ultrasonography: During brain tumor surgery, brain ultrasound is performed and how much tumor is removed is calculated. Intraoperative ultrasonography reduces the risk of residual tumors, especially in tumors that are difficult to separate from brain tissue.
Endoscopy: It is used to provide a wide angle of view from a small area, especially in pituitary tumors and intraventricular tumors, in areas where narrow corridors are used in brain tumor surgery.
Gliolan Staining Technique: The patient is given a drink of liquid before surgery. In surgery, normal brain tissue and tumor tissue are seen in different colors with the special filter of the surgical microscope. With this method, normal brain tissue damage is minimized, tumor removal is maximized, and the risk of the patient with neurological loss is reduced.
Craniotomy: In the surgery of the sensitive areas responsible for arm and leg movements, called the speech center and the “motor area”, the patient is operated by keeping him awake. In this way, the person’s speech and arm-leg movements can be controlled instantly. In this way, the success of the surgery increases.
Intraoperative CT: During the surgery, computed tomography can be taken and the situation reached during the surgery can be displayed. This technology reduces the risk of reoperation.
After Brain Tumor Surgery
After brain tumor surgery, there may be loss of function both before and after surgery due to the location of brain tumors. It is recommended to apply physical therapy and rehabilitation programs after brain tumor surgery. In addition, it is very important for patients with brain tumors to receive psychological support both before and after brain tumor surgery. After brain tumor surgery, the perspective and care of the disease are at least as important as the surgery.